GENEVA, (PIC)
Qatar has called for prompt and independent investigations into the crimes that have been committed by the Israeli occupation against journalists in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar has also underscored that countries are responsible for protecting journalists and ensuring a safe environment for them to perform their work independently, stressing the need to protect them during conflicts as well as in times of peace.
This came in a statement delivered by Abdullah an-Naama, third secretary of the human rights department at Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs, during the general debate on protection of journalists that was held on Friday in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Council.
“The matter of protecting and promoting the rights of journalists and the increasing violations against them, with the spread of impunity and lack of accountability, are among the important issues for which appropriate solutions must be found as soon as possible,” Naama said.
Naama pointed out that the number of journalists martyred in Gaza, since the seventh of last October, has exceeded 130, in addition to the injury of 16 others, the disappearance of four, and the arrest of 25.
The Qatari official also noted that these numbers are likely to increase, making them the largest losses for journalists in the history of modern wars, calling for rapid, independent and impartial investigations in accordance with international standards, and for ensuring that those responsible do not escape accountability for these violations.
He voiced Qatar’s strong condemnation of Israel’s destruction of press and media institutions, and the growing targeting of Palestinian journalists and their families, especially in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, saying that Israeli forces killed journalists while wearing jackets and helmets bearing the “press” sign.
